We had a wonderful time at @stanfordstravel.bsky.social
last night, celebrating the launch of @joelucbarnes.bsky.social's new political travelogue, #FarewellToRussia: A Journey Through the Former USSR.

Look at that table display 😍
Published today! bit.ly/4d4jijP

Poster for author event "Farewell to Russia". A yellow hammer and sickle emblem, against a red background, with a photograph of the author and the front cover of his book.

We welcome @joelucbarnes.bsky.social on 5 May to celebrate his book "Farewell to Russia".
Snow, concrete, the KGB: that’s the cliché of the USSR. Its collapse in 1991 sparked a story more compelling than any stereotype. But what became of the other 14 states that emerged from the ashes?
Free event.

Made in Kazakhstan: Building an AI for a Nation - The Times Of Central Asia On a cold November morning at Al-Farabi University in Almaty, students gathered in a drafty lecture hall, many still wrapped in their coats. The setting was

Latest from our @joelucbarnes.bsky.social Kazakhstan’s young researchers drive a homegrown AI revolution with models like KazLLM and Oylan reflecting local language and culture https://ow.ly/S1Rb50Xq790 #AI #Education #KazLLM #DigitalTransformation #KazakhstanTech

Metro Expansion Key to Almaty Infrastructure Plans - The Times Of Central Asia Next year, Almaty plans another incremental step in the development of its public transport infrastructure with the opening of a new station at Kalkaman. This

Latest from our @joelucbarnes.bsky.social Almaty pushes metro expansion to tackle traffic and smog but experts say real progress hinges on faster buses safer streets and pedestrian friendly planning https://ow.ly/lfNl50Xu0x0 #Almaty #Kazakhstan #Transport #UrbanPlanning

Almaty Gears Up to Host Real Madrid’s Galácticos - The Times Of Central Asia Football fans across Kazakhstan are preparing for arguably the biggest sporting occasion in the country’s history on Tuesday. Kairat Almaty play their first

Latest from @joelucbarnes.bsky.social Kairat Almaty hosts Real Madrid in their first ever home Champions League match a historic night for Kazakhstan football timesca.com/almaty-gears... #Kairat #RealMadrid #UCL #Kazakhstan #Football #KairatAlmaty #ChampionsLeague #KairatVsRealMadrid

We're so excited to welcome @joelucbarnes.bsky.social to the E&T list! Joe's political travelogue #FarewellToRussia: A Journey through the Former USSR will be publishing on 5 March.

Read more @bookbrunch.bsky.social:
www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/article...

#NonFiction #USSR #TravelWriting #Politics

Has Kyrgyzstan Benefited From Its Membership of the EAEU? - The Times Of Central Asia On the sunlit shores of Lake Issyk-Kul this August, Kyrgyzstan played host to leaders from across the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). On August 14-15,

Our @joelucbarnes.bsky.social reports Kyrgyzstan marks a decade in the EAEU, balancing economic gains from trade and migration with geopolitical risks and dependency on Russia timesca.com/has-kyrgyzst... #Kyrgyzstan #EAEUIntegration #CentralAsiaTrade

How Could the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Accord Benefit Central Asia? - The Times Of Central Asia On August 8, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace accord in Washington and committed to the construction of the Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity, a trade

Our @joelucbarnes.bsky.social reflects on how Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal and the Trump Route could reshape the Middle Corridor, boosting regional trade but facing political and logistical hurdles timesca.com/how-could-th... #SouthCaucasus #MiddleCorridor #ArmeniaAzerbaijan #PeaceDeal

Halyk Bank Buys 49% Stake in Uzbekistan’s Click in Landmark Fintech Deal - The Times Of Central Asia Almaty - Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank has announced it will acquire a 49% stake in Uzbek digital payments company Click for $176.4 million, marking one of the

Our @joelucbarnes.bsky.social reports Halyk Bank to acquire 49% of Uzbekistan's Click for $176.4M, aiming to drive regional digital finance integration timesca.com/halyk-bank-b... #HalykBank #DigitalPayments #CentralAsia #Click #Uzbekistan #Fintech #TechInFinance #DigitalFinance #BankingNews

Strained Currents: Managing the Syr Darya’s Waters - The Times Of Central Asia On both banks of the Syr Darya, apartments are springing up. The embankment itself is undergoing extensive renovation. Trucks crawl along, their weight

My latest for @timesca.com on the slow motion crisis unfolding on the Syr Darya, where rice, cotton and hydro projects all vie for precious water supply across four countries.

timesca.com/strained-cur...

Seismic Cities: Is Central Asia Prepared for a Major Earthquake? - The Times Of Central Asia The recent 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, which claimed over 3,500 lives and caused structural failures more than 1,000 kilometers away in Bangkok, has

Our @joelucbarnes.bsky.social looks at how Central Asia's cities remain highly vulnerable to earthquakes despite efforts to prepare for future shocks timesca.com/seismic-citi... #CentralAsia #EarthquakePreparedness #SeismicRisk #DisasterManagement #EarthquakeSafety

L’Étranger: Paris Hosts the Reclusive Leader of Turkmenistan - The Times Of Central Asia Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Turkmenistan’s longtime ruler, no longer holds the title of president; that has been passed, along with much of the public burden,

Our @joelucbarnes.bsky.social observes Turkmenistan’s former president meets Macron in Paris, sparking speculation about gas deals and rare Turkmen diplomacy timesca.com/letranger-pa... #GlobalEnergy #Diplomacy #Turkmenistan #ParisMeeting #Macron #GasDeals #TurkmenGas #EnergyPolitics

To be fair there are over a million foreign students in the US, and 750k+ in Britain.

Are these scholastic overtures changing public opinion in Central Asia? Not really. Is it nevertheless an effective tool? Probably.

Kyrgyzstan's Largest Gold Deposit: Environmental Disaster on the Horizon? - The Times Of Central Asia Concerns over a potential environmental catastrophe at the Kumtor mine, Kyrgyzstan’s largest gold deposit, have gained traction following a recent statement

Concerns grow over waste dumps at Kyrgyzstan's Kumtor mine potentially threatening nearby rivers, though the mining company downplays immediate risks timesca.com/kyrgyzstans-... #Kyrgyzstan #KumtorMine #MiningImpact #EnvironmentalConcerns

My latest for @thediplomat.com on how control over AI is not just an economic imperative for Central Asian nations such as Kazakhstan, but represents a new front in the linguistic battle against Russian thediplomat.com/2025/03/kaza...

Sounds about right. Despite the renewed choice of brands, interestingly people still generally buy white BYDs/Kias. Evidently taking the phrase Ak Jol literally 😅

After US Cuts, Accountability on Air Quality to Take a Hit in Tajikistan The Trump administration’s decision to suspend the U.S. global air quality monitoring program complicates matters in far-away Tajikistan.

Sad piece in The Diplomat on US halts to air quality monitoring in Central Asia, giving governments here another excuse just to make it up. In Bishkek right now, the domestic air quality monitor has the AQI at 40.7; the Swiss embassy has it at 142.

thediplomat.com/2025/03/afte...

You can always tell bad journalism when it’s pockmarked with taxi driver interviews. On this occasion, however, I feel I was justified 😁

My latest for @timesca.com looks at spies for hire. times a.com/mercenary-spies-unmasked-guilty-verdict-exposes-global-disinformation-and-sabotage-network-2/

Our @joelucbarnes.bsky.social looks at how Ramadan in Uzbekistan blends tradition, community, and commercialization timesca.com/fast-now-fea... #RamadanUzbekistan #Ramadan2025 #Uzbekistan #RamadanTraditions #CentralAsia

Fast Now, Feast Later: The Culinary Traditions of Ramadan in Uzbekistan - The Times Of Central Asia Ramadan, or ramazon in Uzbek, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. From dawn until sunset, Muslims must refrain from eating, drinking, and other

Inaugural post 💪
In 2025, Ramadan has fallen during a month of festivals, making it a time of fasting and feasting across Central Asia. In this piece for @timesca.com, I look at how these festivals interact with powerful marketing campaigns to affect Tashkent’s caterers

timesca.com/fast-now-fea...